Google just added new Gmail capabilities to its AI tool, Gemini, and one of them is quite possibly the best example I’ve seen of using AI as a computer-generated personal assistant.
If you’re anything like me, your email inbox is nightmare fuel, filled with thousands of unread newsletters and a perpetually growing notification count. It's gotten to the point with my personal Gmail account where I’ll glance every day for a few seconds and run away from the ongoing uncut weeds. My email inbox is like the worst unkept garden you’ve ever seen, one off the side of the highway, the kind you wouldn’t want to walk through at night.
Turns out, however, I’m not the only one with a mess for an inbox, as lots of my colleagues seem to suffer from a similar hell. Based on the people in the office who live in inbox purgatory, I’m going to presume quite a lot of the world struggles with inbox anxiety, so maybe I’m just human like everyone else. Luckily for us, Google has upgraded its AI chatbot, Gemini, with a new tool that could genuinely change your life.
Gemini’s inbox summary tool
Let me paint the picture: I usually ignore my personal inbox all day, often because the iPhone’s Mail app doesn’t send me any Gmail notifications at all. Instead, I finish my work day, sit down on the couch, and then a random thought passes through my brain - Oops I’ve not checked my emails. I’ll then open my inbox, stare at the 20 to 30 new emails, most of which are newsletters I’ve not bothered to unsubscribe from and close the app, anxious but happier to deny my life’s responsibilities rather than face the list of blue dots.
Does this sound familiar? If so, Gemini’s new Google Workspace update could be the AI tool you’ve been waiting for. Now, all I have to do at the end of my day is ask Gemini to “Summarize my inbox” and I get a neat summary of all of the day’s emails. From there, I can quickly check the ones that are important and leave the cluttered mess for another day. I’ve used this Gemini feature for the last few days now and every evening I feel a sense of relief - with my emails under control, I have one less thing to worry about.
From the Google app on iOS or Android, you can simply ask Gemini questions related to your inbox, whether that’s an overall summary of the day’s emails or help finding a specific chain you’re looking for. Every evening this week I’ve used the summary tool and Gemini replies with a breakdown of all my important emails alongside other categories like newsletters and security alerts. From there, I click on what’s important and skip over the mess.
Another great use of the tool is for finding important emails that don’t necessarily flag up with a simple search. For example, I used Gemini to find old emails from my brother sent over 10 years ago and Google’s AI summarized the majority of our exchanges as well as linked to the original source. With such a messy inbox I’ve found it hard in the past to find important emails and this new tool seems to fix that. That said, I have multiple inboxes and at the time of writing this article, Gemini would only search my main Gmail account with a Google One subscription. I hope that in the future you’ll be able to search across multiple Gmail accounts to get a true reflection of your email inbox. I also found some easier search queries didn’t get any result, I expect this to improve over time.
Take control of your Gmail
We’re only at the beginning of what AI has to offer as a tool for a mainstream audience but this kind of Gemini feature is exactly what I want to see more of. Gemini can help find those old emails your ‘dumb’ email app can’t seem to filter out and it can take away that overwhelming feeling where your online life is far too much to handle. While this Gmail integration is now only available for Gemini Advanced subscribers and it’s still pretty basic in its capabilities, it's the first time in a while that an AI tool has had a genuine impact on my daily life.
All I’ve ever wanted from AI is to worry less about the mundane and focus on the best aspects of life. I want to use my iPhone 16 Pro Max to take photos of the fun times, not worry about replying to emails and constantly obsessing over to-do lists. This Gemini Gmail feature feels like one of those AI tools I’ve been waiting for, and it’s only just getting started.
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